What are the Common Symptoms of Heart Problems in Kids?

Congenital heart problems are a common occurrence in children. More than 200,000 children are born with a congenital heart defect in India. A congenital heart disease is an abnormality present at birth and is of different types. These include Arial Septal Defects (ASD), Ventricular Septal Defects(VSD), Ebstein’s Anamoly, Pulmonary Stenosis, Tetraolgy of Fallot, to name a few.

In many case one needs a child heart treatment to address this. This can include medications, surgery, cathertisations, device closures and others. The cause of congenital cardiac problems is unknown. The baby's heart begins to form during the first six weeks of pregnancy. During this crucial period, the main blood arteries that travel to and from the heart also start to form.

Congenital cardiac abnormalities may start to develop at this stage of a baby's development. The cause of these problems are not completely understood by researchers, but they speculate that genetics, specific medical disorders, particular drugs, and environmental or lifestyle factors, like as smoking, could be involved.

Congenital heart disease can have several symptoms. Some of these are:

Rapid heartbeatShortness of breathFatigueWeaknessPoor appetiteSwelling in hands and feetBlue discoloration of skin and lipsDifficulty in the baby taking the mother’s feed

Some of these symptoms maybe visible soon after birth. The more severe or critical the defect, the more likely it is show up during the pregnancy or right after birth. Milder types of heart defects are likely to present themselves later on. As mentioned above, all types of defects need a child heart treatment, which varies depending on the type and severity of the defect.

Milder congenital heart defects may not be diagnosed until later in childhood. Signs and symptoms of congenital heart defects in older children may include:

Easily becoming short of breath during exercise or activityEasily tiring during exercise or activityFainting during exercise or activitySwelling in the hands, ankles or feet

If your child has any of the signs or symptoms of less-serious heart defects as he or she grows, call your child's care provider.

Some heart defects such as a small hole in the heart may not require child heart treatment because it's possible for the hole to close on it’s own and pose no more risks.

Surgery or interventional techniques are often required if the defect is significant. Modern surgical techniques can frequently fully restore the heart's normal functions.

Children and adults with congenital heart disease, however, must go through specialised evaluation because the ailment typically necessitates lifetime care. This is due to the possibility that people with complex heart disorders may later develop new heart rhythm or valve problems.

Child heart treatment can be expensive especially when interventions such as surgeries or device closures are involved. This poses a huge financial burden on the families. Many parents are young, still starting out on their professional lives and find it difficult to support the cost. For many other families that live below the poverty line, the costs can make the treatment completely out of reach. There are some NGOs for heart surgery in India which step in to provide the financial support to such families who cannot afford the treatment on their own.

Timely diagnosis and intervention can help ensure a near normal life to a child born with a congenital heart defect. Hence it is essential to ensure that as soon as one notices a symptom of a congenital heart defect, one should reach out to a pediatric cardiologist to run the required tests to get a diagnosis. One needs to follow the treatment being advised by the consulting doctor. Where this becomes an issue due to the financial costs, one can explore reaching out to NGOs for heart surgery in India which help with this critical step to ensure that children with a heart defect get the proper treatment.

Genesis Foundation , is one such NGO for heart surgery in India that supports the medical treatment of underprivileged children born with a congenital heart defect. One can find out more by visiting their website www.genesis-foundation,net